Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Peter Koenig Interview

by Cesar Levano

If the snow which provides water to the Peruvian coast melts, the cities where the majority live may disappear. Given that this is a country that has no water conservation system in place and that water laws here might allow for the service to be privatized, the ones affected will undoubtedly be the humble farmer or the urban consumer. On the “Day of Water” Peter Koenig, who for 28 years developed the subject at the World Bank, warns about the coming danger and its possible solutions.

There are those who think that Lima is condemned to a lack of water and maybe to disappearing all together. Is that accurate?

The danger is grave; the heavy rate with which the snow on the mountain tops which makes up most of the coast’s water supply is melting due to global warming. It gets worse because this country has no program or system for water conservation. In any case, water availability will diminish, not only due to the wastage of water in highland areas but also in places were the population is rising all along the coast. Irrigation is on the increase because there is a higher demand for produce. This is why it is wrong to design water systems with high individual consumer levels. 

Is that the case in Lima?

In La Molina, the system is designed for 1,200 liters per person per day. It’s excessive. The usual depth for water systems was of 4 meters ten years ago. Today it is 60 meters. And every year they have to go further up in search of water. The water consumption in La Molina is significantly higher than most cities in Europe. (Hamburg: 110 liters per person a day.)

Is the biggest fear wastage or the mountain top snow completely melting, truthfully?

A European commission for the Environment and a UN report both said that the glaciers most affected by global warming are the Alps and the Andes. It is as a direct result of this that the Peruvian coast has less and less water.

Is it exact that in 25 years Peruvian glaciers will have melted?

There are those who say 25 years, others say 40. It is difficult to estimate it precisely because all estimations are linear: a point is set and then the last five or ten years before that are studied, then a lineal projection is created. Those projections can be very dangerous because one of the sides of global warming, man made global warming (the other side is cyclical) depends on the use of hydrocarbons. When petroleum is burnt or any of its subsidies, these release CO2, one of the most significant agents in global warming. Due to the economic crisis, which has barely started, much less energy is being used, which in turn is reflected in the decrease in oil prices, from 150 dollars for a barrel 10 months ago to 40 dollars today. The cut back in hydrocarbons can influence the part of global warming caused by man. Anyways, it is still very important that we begin to explore and investigate more seriously new sources of energy especially of the renewable kind, such as solar, thermal energy or wind power.

There are those who say that in 2050 the Amazon may be a dessert.

I doubt it. But we must still be attentive and see what happens in that region. There are private companies which buy large strips of land in the Amazon and then cut down a large number of CO2 absorbent trees. They then use the land to plant sugar cane to later produce ethanol, which produces large profits. Such is the profit that in the U.S. where ethanol is produced from corn a third of the entire corn produce harvested is separated for the production of Ethanol. That has caused an increase in food prices, which has affected developing countries resulting in a hunger epidemic among the poor.

What possible solutions are there for the water crisis which threatens the Peruvian coast?

The Peruvian coast is a huge desert where it almost never rains. Lately there has been some rainfall in Lima but that is not a general occurrence. Every piece of grass here has to have been watered. What is being done at the moment is to take part of the water that comes from over fifty rivers coming from the Andes. Only a few of these flow year round. Most only run for 3 or 4months, 6 months if were lucky, a year. After that they run dry.

From the flow of those rivers almost 70% is lost in the Pacific Ocean. Only 30% is used, mainly to water crops. From that percentage, 85% goes to agriculture, and the rest goes to industry and domestic consumption.

At the moment there are 1’200,000 hectares ready to be irrigated. But depending to water available, only 800,000 hectares are cultivated, because there is sufficient water. Half the water which ends up in the Pacific could be held in small reservoirs. I say small reservoirs as in easily manageable by consumer unions, not like the large reservoirs, which create environmental and social problems, seeing as they displace people and they destroy the natural flora and fauna –besides being very expensive to maintain.

Being able to retain more water could increase agricultural production in the coast. There could be a 50% increase in irrigation. I have been told that the current government’s main interest is to build large reservoirs, which would lead to significant contracts. We know what happens with large contracts.

How much does the newly approved water law reflect that desire?

It does not reflect it directly. I take it that water laws are meant to conserve and protect water, given that it is indispensable for life and the environment, it is a public resource; it is vulnerable and essential for sustainable development. The most important thing: water should not be private property and should never be administered by a private company for financial gain. No way. The new law does not meet these necessities.

Where does this law fail?

In my understanding it has two flaws. One is article 2, which originally said that water should not be privatized, and now says that water administration “can only be given and executed in harmony for the common good, environmental protection and the interest of the nation. There is no private property on water”.

The current government can interpret the law saying that the administration of water by the private sector is in the Nations interest. That means that Sedapal could be privatized as well as other water treatment services. There is also a risk that the emergency water administration in the region of project ‘Chavimochic’ could be privatized –large agricultural compounds that will soon come to 150,000 hectares are at risk- which would also affect farm land surrounding the area. That would considerably increase the cost of water for irrigation, which would really hurt poor land owners.

Which is the other flaw?

Having taken away the phrase “for no financial gain” which was included in the original draft. It is very odd that they took it out. Why was it taken out? So that big politicians can do whatever they want to do. Alan Garcia’s regime has sold itself to the U.S. and in order to follow the Free Trade Agreement it has to produce high quality crops for exports, they would privatize water in order to meet these demands and increase corporate gain.

Another important point is the dealings with the springs.

It is a key point. Article 75 of the law says that the National Water Authority, through the corresponding Spring Council, watches over and administrates with the intention of preventing and fighting the effects of contamination in rivers, lakes and the sea; it could also coordinate with other public administration sectors. It says: “The state recognizes as a vulnerable environmental area the springs from which the rivers sprout”. The National Authority and the Environmental Ministry, can declare areas off limits where there are no rights of use, availability or containment.

In stead of complete prohibition of any and all concessions at the springs, the National Authority can declare…

They are thinking of protecting the mining companies, which are the first to contaminate. We must look at what is happening with Yanacocha. If the mining companies begin to contaminate all the water from above, the people below will only get contaminated water. And, what is worst, underground water sources will also become contaminated.

The ANA instead of being a neutral organization or being tied to a neutral ministry has been put under the Ministry of Agriculture’s supervision.

In the law there is a complementary disposition, the sixth, it is very unusual. It says: “The National Water Authority can join the Ministry of Environment once it is operational”. But it turns out that the ministry has practically no budget or staff.

How much water does the ministry use?

The industry, including mining, uses 6 or 7% of the resource. Mining maybe uses up most of it. The amount of water used in the mines is less important than the amount of pollution caused by it. It is this which kills plants, animals and people. I always think of the Yanacocha case, which contaminates rivers making people sick and killing the natural flora and fauna and rakes in many benefits as it produces gold of very good quality and it does so with the lowest costs in the world. In spite of this it does not pay any taxes.    

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Dear Peter:
Congratulations on this interview. I am so glad since this it is going to help people to be aware of this problem! It has to be solved!  

Dear Madam / Sir,

by members and ex-members of the World Bank, the Internacional Vetiver Network for soil and water-conservacion - www.vetiver.org - was foundet a long time agro. The Vetiver System offers efective and low-cost techniques in water-consercacion in watershed - management, proteccion of dams, irrigacion chancels, etc... 

For years the "Red Latinoamericana de Vetiver" is trying to promote the Vetiver System in Latin America with some promising results in Central America, Venezuela, etc.. But Peru is still on a starting point to dicover this water conservation methods, despite all the problems indicated by the article by Peter Koening in the Peru.

Further information in Spanish: http://vetiverlatina.blogspot.com & http://groups.google.com/group/vetiverlatina

Best regards,
Joaquin Boehnert - for the Vetiver Network - www.vetiver.org

Member of "Instituto de Investigacion y Capacitacion Agriciola - IINCAGRO - Pozuzo - Selva Central de Peru
www.zonasdeamortiguamiento.org

You article is very informative!!

I guess one form of tackling shortage of water and ideally in the Peruvian coast is to use the supply of salt water.

I believe the technology of desalination of ocean water has been improving and widely used by individual owners of boats and by the Navy. The water desalination treatment process may be of higher cost but definitely is one of the alternatives for all. 

Saludos and thanks for the article.  
    

 Articles are already 'floating' around 'bout a commodity called WATER in 2050 a.d....about rationing water to a 1/2 glass/ person per day. About lakes and ponds being heavely guarded by the military to avoid water contamination and 'free for all' consumption. The article hints of early ageing (people at 25 looking like 60) due to the lack of drinking water. Children dieing from multiple illnesses due to organ malfunctions....etc,etc. Water will be more expensive than diamonds or gold !

It's a combination of global warming and the waste (by human race) of this life giving natural resource. We  ALL need to do our part before it gets too late. 

I like to make a comment on the message of Luis Manrique about the technology of desalination of ocean water: This is may be a solucion on a small scale and for emergencies, but will be to expensive on a larger scale. Here we don,t have to panic, as meationed by the message of Wasatch on the 05/04, but to find sustainable soluciones, like catching rain-water and the foog along the dry costline of Perú. If this is done with and by the local rural people there will be much more hope and future in this subject!! By the way, it would be very helpful if the very well payed World Bank expert Peter Koenig would join in, in this discussion!

Best regards,

Joaquin Boehnert.

There are other more immediate concerns at hand than 'running out of water'. Although scientist are letting us know the fast melting of the ice crust on both end of the Earth...I'd be as concern of recent volcano eruptions, ocean/rain contamination, deforestation and fires...and the ultimate war !  The consequences ?... ( Global alteration and decend of Hydrogen and Oxigen @ Water )...

The misconception ?: " This is not happening in my life time..."

Dear Readers,
I am delighted that my interview has sparked a debate - a long overdue debate.

The supply of drinking water is in danger almost all over the world - in danger of careless contamination by industry, agriculture and by us, humans - who discharge our wastewater untreated into rivers, lakes and the sea - in the case of Lima and Latin America in general, about 90% of waste water is discharged untreated.

More generally the laissez-faire neo-conservative economics of the last 10-15 years of deregulated greedy and profit hungry privatization of just about everything has allowed - among other calamities - the degradation of our water resources.

In the same vein, maybe the biggest danger is that the remaining soft water is being privatized by huge corporations. This concept is being pushed around the globe by these illustrious international financial organizations, like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank, to name just a few.  It is already happening all around us and we are not seeing it. Just think of all the bottled water that is being sold in Lima - let alone around the world - in most cases it is just tap water from Sedapal and the like - which private companies buy, put in plastic bottles (themselves an environmental disaster - the degradation of a plastic bottle takes 1,000 years!) - and sell them for 500 to 1,000 times the price of tap water.

Sedapal runs the risk of being partially privatized and being traded on the stock market... did you know that?  - Can you imagine the consequences?

Desalination may have become cheaper and more accessible, but it is not a sustainable solution - it is merely a remedy to abate a symptom - not a cure for the disease. 

The disease is our greed and carelessness for the environment - something which is in many cases supported, if not explicitly then tacitly - by governments (case of Peru).

We as citizens can and must stand up for our civil rights and the rights of having a sustainable environment, lasting sources of drinking water - we have to stand up to our politicians and request them to implement laws that protect our water resources; we must request them to modify the recently passed Peruvian Water Law which is a sham a disgrace, because it foments further pollution of the resource (Art. 75) and privatization of water services (Art. 2), as I have already mentioned in my interview.

Citizens must become more aware – not believing the manipulated news released by government and replayed by the corporate mainstream media – doing their own research (there is internet!!! and still some ‘free’ journals and even TV stations).   

Citizens must become active in protecting their resources - all of them including, of course, water, but also hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and minerals which the government tends to sell out to foreign companies at the benefit of the elite and to the detriment of the environment and - you / us - the citizen at large.

Peter Koenig